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Lessons on Homosexuality Move Into the Classroom

After five years, one
legal defeat and a challenge on the way, Montgomery County, Md., is at
the frontier of sex education in the United States. This fall, barring
last-minute court action, the county will offer lessons on
homosexuality in its 8th- and 10th-grade health education courses.

To school officials, the lessons are a natural outgrowth of sex
education and of teachings on tolerance and diversity. They consist of
two heavily scripted, 45-minute lessons for each grade and a video
demonstrating how to put on a condom. The lessons’ central message is
respect and acceptance of the many permutations of sexual identity,
both in others and in one’s self.

School officials said they were
not seeking to promote a political agenda, beyond tolerance and a kind
of cultural literacy. “Our charge starts with educating students,” said
Betsy Brown, who supervised the curriculum’s development in
consultation with the American Academy of Pediatrics. “This is part of education.”

But
critics, who have filed lawsuits seeking to stop the lessons, contended
that the Montgomery County schools, just north of Washington, have gone
too far. John Garza, president of the Citizens for a Responsible
Curriculum, a group leading the opposition, said parents can block
television shows they deem morally questionable, “but then we have the
schoolteacher affirming unhealthy behavior.”

Montgomery is a
mostly well-educated, politically liberal enclave. But opponents of the
new curriculum, portrayed as a vocal minority by school officials, may
be more in sync with the mood of parents nationally.

According to a 2004 national poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and National Public Radio,
roughly three out of four parents say it is appropriate for high
schools to teach about homosexuality, but about half say it is
appropriate in middle school.

WHEN asked about the issue in
greater detail, more than 50 percent of high school and middle school
parents supported teaching what homosexuality is about “without
discussing whether it is wrong or acceptable.” Only 8 percent of high
school parents and 4 percent of middle school parents said schools
should teach “that homosexuality is acceptable.” The survey had a
margin of error of 6 percentage points.

Montgomery County may be ahead of the country on sex education, but it may also just be out there, stranded on its own.

The
controversy illustrates how fraught the road can be for educators who
venture beyond academics to influence students about sensitive social
issues, risking not just lawsuits, but also losing step with parents
and voters. In New York City, the controversy 14 years ago over the
“rainbow curriculum,” which included the book “Heather Has Two Mommies”
as a first-grade text, cost Chancellor Joseph A. Fernandez his job.

“It’s
a myth that our schools don’t teach values about lots of things,” said
Debra W. Haffner, director of the Religious Institute on Sexual
Morality, Justice and Healing, which promotes discussions about
sexuality. “We don’t put communism, socialism and capitalism on an
equal footing in our classes on government.”

But for a raft of
reasons, many of them unconscious, teaching about sexuality is
different, said Susan K. Freeman, a historian at Minnesota State
University, Mankato.

For many parents, boy-girl dating may not
mean that their child is sexually active, she said. By coming out as
gay, though, “they’re announcing their sexuality.” Parents make a tacit
assumption of sexual activity, and “that presents a problem for a lot
of people,” she said.

The Montgomery County lessons begin by
defining terms like “prejudice,” “homosexual” and “transgender,” and
warn students not to assume that because they are not yet attracted to
the opposite sex, they must be gay. The eighth-grade curriculum tells
gay students that “concerns about how family and friends will accept
the situation are reasonable, and fears about being teased or even
attacked are not unfounded.”

In the 10th grade, the lessons,
which presume that sexual identity is innate, again discuss the
stresses of coming out, but add, “Many people who are gay, lesbian,
bisexual or transgender celebrate their self-discovery.”

Kevin
Jennings, the executive director of the New York-based Gay, Lesbian and
Straight Education Network, said the curriculum could reduce bullying
over sexual identity.

“I don’t know how denying information to
young people about sexuality or sexual orientation does anything to
promote their health and well being,” he said.

Mr. Garza
objected to schools teaching that homosexuality is not subject to
change and failing to mention higher rates of some venereal diseases
among gay men. “When you get into these hotly contested areas of moral
judgment, that’s where the school needs to get out of it, or at least
teach all sides,” he said.

Are you a mom looking to discuss modern day issues with a Christian persepective?

I'm unaware that this is taught as a "subject" or "content", but for me, I would prefer to see issues like respect, diversity and tolerance being taught.

Our student population (and society for that matter) is made up of so many different races, religions, backgrounds, orientations, learning and physical challenges, etc. I think children would benefit from a robust and holistic approach that focuses on appreciating, embracing and respecting ALL differences.

Right now, schools unintentionally segregrate the studen population by labeling children as "typical", "special", or via their ethnic/cultural background. I realize that SOME of these labels provide for services, but the unintended, inadvertant message is delivered to students nonetheless. If we stopped focusing on "groups", "labels", etc and started focusing on the human and humanity element, the answer to this question is alot easier to understand.

I'm unaware that this is taught as a "subject" or "content", but for me, I would prefer to see issues like respect, diversity and tolerance being taught.

Our student population (and society for that matter) is made up of so many different races, religions, backgrounds, orientations, learning and physical challenges, etc. I think children would benefit from a robust and holistic approach that focuses on appreciating, embracing and respecting ALL differences.

Right now, schools unintentionally segregrate the studen population by labeling children as "typical", "special", or via their ethnic/cultural background. I realize that SOME of these labels provide for services, but the unintended, inadvertant message is delivered to students nonetheless. If we stopped focusing on "groups", "labels", etc and started focusing on the human and humanity element, the answer to this question is alot easier to understand.

This really is a touchy subject for me. I am a Christian Mom who has a ex who is homosexual. I teach my son to hate the sin not the sinner. I feel it is wrong for the school to teach this it is the parents who need to teach these things. My son does not know that is dad is gay and I will let him come to me, and tell how I feel God made sex for a man and women that aremarried not for any two unmarried people, it is not for same sex people. It a gift from God. I think parents should talk to their kids about moral things not Teachers.

Homosexuality is a subject in school now a days? Things sure have changed since my son was in school I quess. Back then, his school taught tolerance, understanding and acceptance of all people. Which is a good thing. To many people teach their children just the opposite.

Homosexuality is a subject in school now a days? Things sure have changed since my son was in school I quess. Back then, his school taught tolerance, understanding and acceptance of all people. Which is a good thing. To many people teach their children just the opposite.

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